Bruce Patton

Bruce Patton is a Distinguished Fellow of the Harvard Negotiation Project (HNP), which he co-founded with Roger Fisher and William Ury in 1979 and administered as Deputy Director until 2009. With Fisher, Patton pioneered the teaching of negotiation at Harvard Law School, where he was Thaddeus R. Beal Lecturer on Law for fifteen years. He continues to teach the Negotiation Workshop and Advanced Negotiation Workshop in the Harvard Negotiation Institute, the Program on Negotiation for Senior Executives, and occasional courses for law students. In 1984 Patton, Fisher, and three HNP alumni founded Conflict Management, Inc., a negotiation consulting and training firm, and Conflict Management Group (now part of Mercy Corps), a not-for-profit entity that works on conflicts of public concern. In 1997, Patton and four CMI/HNP colleagues founded Vantage Partners, llc, an international consulting firm that helps Global 2000 companies negotiate and manage strategic relationships for bottom-line results. Patton is the co-author with Roger Fisher and William Ury of Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In (Second Edition, Penguin, 1991), and with Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen of Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most (Viking/Penguin, 1999). To date, there are more than 5 million copies of Getting to Yes in print in 36 languages, while Difficult Conversations is a New York Times business bestseller that has been translated into almost as many languages. Patton received his A.B. from Harvard College in 1978 and his J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1984.

The following items are tagged Bruce Patton.

circle of value

Posted by & filed under Glossary.

An approach used to find creative ways to satisfy as many shared and differing interests as possible. The approach is characterized by exploring options without commitments (or threats), using interests and standards of legitimacy to explore ways to create and distribute value, and the parties’ avoiding becoming a voice of authority. Also see “problem-solving approach.”

difficult conversation

Posted by & filed under Glossary.

A framework for describing how to apply interest-based negotiation techniques to conversations and dilemmas in daily life. According to this framework, underlying every difficult conversation are actually three deeper conversations. (Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton and Sheila Heen, Difficult Conversations [Viking/Penguin, 1999], 7). Also see “three conversations”.

Negotiation Pedagogy at PON (NP@PON)

Posted by & filed under News.

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Workshop Agenda
Presenter Biographies

Negotiation Pedagogy at the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School (NP@PON) is pleased to announce a one-day Negotiation Pedagogy Workshop on Saturday, December 8, 2007. The workshop will be held on the Harvard Law School campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and will feature sessions on new and lesser-known negotiation teaching

December 2007 Negotiation Pedagogy Workshop

Posted by & filed under Pedagogy at the Program on Negotiation (Pedagogy @ PON), Research Projects.

NP@PON held a one-day Negotiation Pedagogy Workshop on Saturday, December 8, 2007. The workshop took place on the Harvard Law School campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and featured sessions on new and lesser-known negotiation teaching tools as well as on broader curriculum design and educational principles. The workshop was open to the public and geared toward those who teach negotiation and dispute resolution at the graduate and undergraduate level. We expect to offer a follow up workshop in 2009.

Negotiation Workshop: Improving Your Negotiating Effectiveness

Posted by & filed under Harvard Negotiation Institute, Harvard Negotiation Institute (5 Day Courses).

Becoming an expert negotiator requires a keen understanding of the negotiation process, along with thorough preparation and practice. In this intensive, five-day program, you will acquire proven theories, tools, and techniques for effectively navigating the negotiation process from setup to outcome. Designed to help you anticipate, systematically prepare, and identify leverage points in negotiation, this program provides critical insights into negotiation dynamics, as well as a personal roadmap for improving outcomes at the negotiation table.

Dealing with Difficult Conversations

Posted by & filed under Harvard Negotiation Institute, Harvard Negotiation Institute (5 Day Courses).

When negotiations become difficult, emotions often escalate and negotiations break down. To overcome barriers and turn negotiations from difficult to collaborative, you must first understand the interpersonal dynamics at play. In this program, you will examine insights, views, assumptions, and behaviors and learn how to modify deeply held assumptions and behaviors that often inhibit successful negotiations.

The Power of a Positive No

Posted by & filed under Events.

Join William Ury for a discussion about his latest book, The Power of a Positive No. In it he argues that the key skill we need in today’s world of high stress and expanding choices is the ability to say “No.” He will talk about how we can set limits and stand up for what

The Handbook of Dispute Resolution

Posted by & filed under News, Reviews of Books.

This volume is an essential, cutting-edge reference for all practitioners, students, and teachers in the field of dispute resolution. Each chapter was written specifically for this collection and has never before been published. The contributors–drawn from a wide range of academic disciplines–are among the most prominent in dispute resolution today, including Frank E. A. Sander,

A Conversation with the Founders of PON

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A Conversation with the Founders of the Program on Negotiation
RealPlayer Recommended (download here)

Recently, the scholars of negotiation, mediation, and decision analysis who founded the Program on Negotiation gathered at PON to discuss the early days of the Program and the field they helped pioneer. Present were Roger Fisher, Bruce Patton, Howard Raiffa, Frank E.A. Sander,

Careers in Negotiation and Alternative Dispute Resolution: Perspectives from the Field

Posted by & filed under Careers, News, Students, Webcasts.

Webcast
Careers in Negotiation
RealPlayer Recommended (download here)

The Program on Negotiation Student Interest Group hosted a panel discussion, “Careers in Negotiation and Alternative Dispute Resolution: Perspectives from the Field,” Thursday, April 17 from 5:00-6:30 p.m. at Harvard Law School.

In this career roundtable discussion, six professional conflict management practitioners provided insight about negotiation and ADR opportunities along with